The Secret of NIMH

Based on the children's book Mrs Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien (The Silver Crown, Z For Zachariah), The Secret of NIMH is the animated interpretation. It takes a slightly lighter approach to the story than the book, but is still a very good piece of animation and a great story for kids, with enough in it for adults to make it less than a chore.

The story is set on the Fitzgibbons' farm and revolves around a widowed field mouse, Mrs Brisby, and her attempts to move her family, and maybe even her house, from the path of the farmer's plough that is due to rip up the field any time. With spring approaching, the whole farm is aware that 'Moving Day' is almost here, and there is much to be done. All would appear to be straightforward enough, but her sick son, Timmy, unable to be moved until he is better, complicates things.

Seeking the advice of Great Owl, Mrs Brisby finds the wisdom she receives is pretty unhelpful, until she innocently mentions her late husband's name, Jonathon Brisby. At this, things at last start to go her way, although she is none the wiser as to why her husband is so respected. Great Owl gives her new advice to seek out the rats that live in the rosebush, for they can help, and will help, the widow of Jonathon Brisby. The rats are no ordinary rats, and a plan is hatched to move the Brisby's from the path of the plough, but you just know that things are not going to be that easy.

This is a great animated feature for kids. It is slightly different from the book in a number of areas, but the movie still has likeable characters, magic, scary villains, comic foils, slapstick moments, tension, gorgeous and detailed animation, and a great musical score. The story holds enough drama and twists to keep their attention until the end. It features the vocal talents of Dom DeLuise, Derek Jacobi, Elizabeth Hartman, Arthur Malet and a young Shannen Doherty. The Secret of Nimh may be 20 years old, but it looks better than many animated features being knocked out today.

This is a great looking animated feature. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but is not 16x9 enhanced. Colours are wonderful, bright, and detailed. The effort that has gone into creating each frame is to be commended. Black levels are also fine, and the overall image is appropriate for animation. There is no evidence of aliasing, though there is some evidence of grain, but in a film that is 20 years old this is to be expected.

There are also some minor film artefacts such as dirt and white specks, but these are barely noticeable.

There is no layer change on this single sided disc.

This is a fairly unremarkable Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio experience, and I guess we should not have expected more. It is an adequate transfer that is not going to win any awards. The dialogue is clear, and synchronisation appears to be fine (hey, it's animated so it's never going to be 100% accurate!), low-level sounds are infrequent, but quite rich and deep when they are employed.

There is some separation of sound between left and right front speakers, but of course, all other speakers are silent. The musical score sounds fine, and is appropriate for the action on screen.

The German and Castellano audio tracks are in Dolby Digital 1.0 mono, and therefore they are even less dynamic than the English track.

The only real extra is a US Theatrical Trailer and at 2:20 minutes it does what it needs to do in promoting the film. It is a pan and scan trailer, and the Dolby Digital 1.0 mono audio sounds quite muddy and very unimpressive.

There's little doubting that children who enjoy animated features will enjoy this. The story is pitched at a child's level, with just enough menace to keep them interested. The animation is very good, and no details have been overlooked. Adults too could do worse than watch this with their kids.